Positive View on Technology, Essay Example

In the contemporary world of fierce competition and business our lives have become impossible without technology and innovations, for we use it everywhere we go and some things we are not even able to accomplish without using some kind of a device. With a current vast development of technology, one is able to communicate, share, and buy anything sitting in front of the computer and using internet. Thanks to credit cards and bank accounts we do not have to care cash around, while still able to check out in the store. Cell phones, for example, allow us to get in touch with anybody on the spur of the moment which makes it very comfortable when you want to talk to somebody, or even critical in emergency situation. Technology is everywhere around us: television, your cell-phone, mp3 player, computer and internet, and even a GPS navigator in your car. Technology is also essential for disabled people, thus making their life easier and helping them overcome everyday obstacles they face. Technology is really vital for our everyday life, especially cell-phones and internet, which help people with disabilities as well.

Cell-phones can be used not only for business, games, and internet, but also could serve as a lifesaver in an emergency situation. For example, when you run out of gas or get a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. Without a cell-phone, it would take you quite a while to get to some place with a phone or you would have to wait in vain for someone to stop by and give you a hand. On the other hand, a cell-phone allows you to remotely call 911 in this case and actually save your life. Suppose you have a job meeting, which you simply must attend, because your boss is waiting for you to make a presentation for this new client of your company. However, you cannot get there on time because you get in traffic, have your car broken down or something else can happen. If you have a cell-phone you can easily notify the boss and he will help you out by gaining some extra time for you. If you do not have a cell-phone, you will probably get fired or reprimanded by your boss. Moreover, when the success of your business depends on the qualitative and timely information, your cell-phone internet connection is indispensable. Before the creation of a cell-phone people were limited in their communication abilities, for they had to use a landline phone to talk to their friends or relatives who were not nearby. Consequently, almost everybody owns a cell-phone in the United States, which makes it comfortable to communicate between each other. “Total U.S. cell-phone subscribership as of August 2008 reached 262.5 million according to Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association statistics.”(Plunkett, 12) Therefore, roughly more that 80% of U.S. population own cell-phones. Cell-phones can be of great assistance to people with disabilities, who spend most of their time in wheelchair. They may get into a situation when they really need someone’s help, but there can be nobody around, thus their health may be potentially at risk. However, they could use a cell-phone to get in touch with their friends, relatives or caregivers in order to get assistance. They can also use it for browsing the internet on hand, without having to use home desktop computer or going all the way to internet café.

Another technology breakthrough is internet, which has eventually become indispensable part of our life. Today it is used not only for business advertisement and entertainment, but also for education and sales. However, the primary purpose of internet is communication, ant it has tremendously excelled in fulfilling this task. “Worldwide, more than 1.3 billion people are using the Internet by some estimates.”(Plunkett, 8) Internet is relatively one of the cheapest ways of communication, thus you can send e-mails to your friends and business partners, chat with them in chat rooms, or talk to them directly using software like Skype, which even allows video conversation. The developers are trying to make online and real communications as close as possible, so people don’t feel the gap that much. Moreover, if you think about it, internet works 24 hours a day 7 days a week, thus you can communicate whenever you feel comfortable. The development of wireless and 3g connections allows hooking up to the internet remotely without getting stick to a certain location. In order to ensure efficient communication between people various social networks has been developed, like Facebook and MySpace. Many colleges and universities have their online education programs, thus you can study and obtain a degree from your home. Moreover, internet allows you to buy almost anything online and get it delivered to your front porch. You can even book airline tickets, hotel rooms, and a lot more online. 91% of internet users use internet for finding necessary information, and 57% use it for conducting research for their studies.(Plunkett, 49) For people with disabilities internet can be a real “lifesaver”, for they can accomplish multiple tasks, like making purchases and communicating without having to overcome long distances, for not all locations are specially equipped for disabled people. Moreover, they can study and work online as well, thus being independent of the physical environment.

Eventually, technology breakthroughs have completely changed our lives, and these changes have only been for better. With the help of multiple devices we can now obtain new and information on the spur of the moment, through television, telecommunication, and internet. We can work, buy, study, chat online, which makes internet a complete global environment satisfying different needs and wants of different people. Cell-phone and internet communication appears to be of great assistance to people with disabilities making their life more comfortable and enjoyable. However, technological development does not stop at this point and continues to advance in order to make even greater achievements and enhance our life.

Works Cited

Anderberg, Peter. “FACE: Disabled People, Technology and Internet.” Doctorial Thesis, Certec: 2006. <http://www.certec.lth.se/doc/face/>.

Plunkett, Jack. Plunkett’s Telecommunications Industry Almanac 2009. Plunkett Research Ltd., 2008.

Plunkett, Jack. Plunkett’s E-Commerce and Internet Industry Almanac 2008. Plunkett Research Ltd., 2008.